Texans 16, Chiefs 10 – Rain rain go away observations

Texans beat the Chiefs 16-10, but in the preseason the wins don’t really count other than feeling better than you would if your team got crushed.

Here’s some random observations.

Don’t want rain in a preseason game. Check out the post-game quotes of Gary Kubiak and some of the players. Sloppy conditions can contribute to injuries, from Kubiak:

“Eric Winston (has) a little ankle issue, we’ll check him more tomorrow. DelJuan Robinson got a stinger, he should be OK. Joel Dreessen has a hyperextended knee. I’ll know more about him tomorrow. Troy Nolan broke a hand. It’s going to be a while; we’ll evaluate him in the next couple of days. (Xavier) Adibi has got a finger (injury). Frank Okam got a shin cut, Tim Bulman a quad. (Boomer) Grigsby looks pretty serious with an ankle, and then Rex Grossman looks like he got a pretty good hamstring, so it’s a very long list for a first time out. We’re going to have to get back and evaluate where we’re at.”

Ungood and something to watch. [Update 9:17 am: Eric Winston added this comment at Twitter: “FYI, my ankle is fine. I’m surprised it was even mentioned. Just stepped funny towards the end of the last drive. Thanks for the well wishes.”]

Texans offense needs positive yardage every play. The Texans offense relies on not getting their runs stuffed, getting positive yardage every play. Steve Slaton struggled, going 4 attempts for 7 yards. In the play that got Matt Schaub sacked it was a 3rd and 11 situation. The offense needed to handle that play better, but even more so, the offense is designed not to get into long yardage situations. No teams like long yardage, but the Texans offense in particular performs better when they are not predictable.

The offense looked better when RB Chris Brown came into the game, and started racking up positive yards, keeping down and distance short, and the running game credible. Hopefully Slaton gets his feet under him for the next game.

Dan Orlovsky watch. Given the hit that Matt Schaub hit in the first quarter, it begs the question whether Orlovsky is up to the task of taking on the team if he has to. It’s a bit of a work in progress. Here’s a comparison of Orlovsky’s debut with Sage Rosenfels in 2006:

Winners. QB Matt Schaub (for not getting destroyed during that sack), RB Chris Brown, TE James Casey (not many chances, but that one handed catch was sick), DT Frank Okam (flashed some good things), G Kasey Studdard (especially for effort on fumble recovery), LB Kevin Bentley, RB Ryan Moats (good effort in less than ideal conditions with no fullback–this is his first full camp with Texans), DE Connor Barwin (gets his first sack though apparently was slow on a special team assignment that cost a time out).

Not so much winners. S Brandon Harrison (he sometimes looks lost), RB Steve Slaton (I’m guessing he’d want a do over), QB Rex Grossman (3 bad plays and a hamstring issue-he needs all the preseason game play he can get, and this is ungood).

Next two games key. The Texans defense has a bigger test next week against the Saints offense which was number 1 in the league in total offense last year. And the Chiefs, not so much. And the Texans offense has a huge test against the Vikings in week three. The Vikings sacked Peyton Manning three times in six snaps. Ew.

Left a lot of stuff out I’m sure, but I want to hear your observations.